Unpacking

I finally reached the stage today I could start unpacking our things. With help from some of the cousins we were able to box up all of Tante Ruth’s stuff and stash it in “Kaleb’s room” (which isn’t there yet because we haven’t built the wall). At least it’s all out of my way so I could clean and start opening the boxes we had in the basement. Oh, how I needed to find a few things, like the coffee grinder, our clothes and bedding and the power converters I use for my computer. Now, life feels less pressured and I’m sure I’ll get a good night’s sleep. There’s still plenty to do but at least I can see light at the end of the tunnel. (The photo was taken a few years ago while standing in the living room, facing the area which will become Kaleb’s bedroom.)


I was invited to a prayer meeting this morning, held by “The Praying Women” as I call them. It was so great to be back together with them and pray and pray and pray. They are a powerful group and they see many answers to prayers – one of them being my return – so that was nice to hear.

While I was at the prayer meeting, Kory and his cousin Rune (pronounced Roo-na) were doing some repairs to things that had broken over the years in our condo. They also set up our kitchen table and put the anti-scratch pads on the bottom of all the furniture. The hardwood floors have taken a beating over the years as furniture got pushed around without them. So much prep work to be done before we get this place nice and cozy, but we have time, so it’s OK.

Jonathan, Kory’s ex-boss, came over this evening to give a bid on how much it would cost to build a wall for Kaleb’s room. We were all set on a full sized wall with a pocket door to partition off part of the living room for him, but when we sat on the couch and looked out at the mountains, we realized we’d lose that view through his bedroom window if we built such a wall. I was awake for many hours last night (like from 2:00 am until 5:30am), thinking about that wall (and writing my blog for yesterday). We decided a stair step partition would be better, so the light can still come through to the living room and it can easily be removed if we someday don’t need an extra bedroom anymore. Jonathan will trade labor with Kory so we don’t have to pay the $100 an hour labor charge, but I was surprised when he said it would only be about $300 in materials to build it. That is WAY under my estimate, so now I might splurge and buy a NEW dishwasher, rather than a used one. I certainly can’t live much longer without one. The sink is so small, just one plate and a cup fill it up and it’s impossible to get a pitcher under the faucet, so there must soon be a solution to that problem. I think I might splurge and ask for a new sink and faucet as well.

I hung up our new curtains today that had I bought before we left town last year. They were originally priced at $40 for a meter wide section, but I scored big time when I bought them from a store that was going out of business for $1.50 each. I put up new curtains in the entire apartment for under $20. Even the locals were impressed with that kind of bargain. No one envies the bargains I get on used items because used things are so undesirable to everyone, but finding something NEW for a good price was a major find. Kory doesn’t like the curtains however, but he’s just NOT thinking about how much money I saved. He’ll come around. I like them just fine. (See photo of the BEFORE curtains – they were dark and blocked too much of the light – tomorrow I’ll post the AFTER shot.)

Kory went to visit Aunt Ruth today. He said it was as if he weren’t even in the room. Her hearing aid isn’t working properly so she couldn’t hear him, and she is now nearly totally blind so she had no idea he was there. Poor thing. He said she isn’t complaining, but she was too distracted by her condition to enjoy his company much. She’s supposed to get a new hearing aid tomorrow, so we’ll all go see her after that happens.

Kaleb continues to enjoy his freedom today so we haven’t seen much of him since we got here. He has been helpful when he’s around though, bringing up things from the basement and running things out to the trash. He came home from his playtime this afternoon with one of his best friends, Andre. Andre brought some kind of Scrabble like game and they sat for a few hours quietly in our bedroom, playing the game while we worked. They helped out a little, when asked. Andre stayed on for the dinner Kory made of fishballs, boiled potatoes and carrots – Andre just ate the potatoes. I’m not too fond of fish balls myself, so I was sure to put bread and cheese on the table so I wouldn’t go hungry. It was our first meal in our very own kitchen, eaten among boxes stacked higher than our chairs, but it couldn’t have been any better, unless of course, we’d eaten something other than fish balls.